November 21, 1872. ] 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



413 



chalcedonica, L. Haageaua hybrida, Myosotis azorica, M. sylvatica, Pansies, 

 Pentstemons, Phlox, desussata in variety, Polyanthuses, Potentillas, Pyreth- 

 rnras, Silene Schafta, Picotees,' Pinks, Sweet Williams, and Wallflowers. Some 

 of these are sweet-scented. You may have Gloire de Dijon Rosain the 

 centre of the flower-bed. The plants will not interfere with its roots, only 

 in digging be careful not to go so deep as to injure them. 



Liltum AURATira Seed Sowing (E. B. P.). — Sow the seed as soon as ripe 

 in rather deep pans, draining well, and filling to within half an inch of the 

 rim -with the following compost chopped up rather small — viz., two parts 

 fibrous loam, one part leaf soil, one part sandy peat, one-sixth silver sand, 

 and make level with the Bame kind of soil sifted fine. Scatter the seed 

 evenly, and cover about a quarter of an inch deep with fine soil. Set the 

 pans in a greenhouse, and in March you may place them in a gentle hotbed, 

 but we consider the plants are best raised without more heat than that of a 

 greenhouse. Keep moist through the winter, but not very wet, moister after 

 March. 



Exhibitor Questioning the Judge (Clifton Suspension Bridge).— Any- 

 one can be a well-conducted winner ; but it is more difficult to be a well-con- 

 ducted loser, and one of the worst instances of his misconduct is to annoy 

 the Judge with remonstrant queries. 



Celine Forestier Rose (B. T. F.). — " Celine Forestier, called also Liesis, 

 was raised by M. Andre Leroy, and sent out about 1S58. The Rose might 

 by some one have been called after Lady S. Bradford. In that case the raiser 

 mistook Seline or Selina for Celine or Selena. If meant as a compliment to 

 Lady Bradford, why was it also called Liesis ? I do not in the last twenty 

 years remember any Rose with the prefix of Selina. It is an admirable Rose, 

 and whilst good for walls, makes the noblest standards. — W. F. Radclyffe." 



Insects (A Subscriber, Priory). — The caterpillars which have attacked 

 your young Geranium plants in such numbers are those of one of the moths 

 of the family Noctuidffi, which are not easily determined in their caterpillar 

 condition. We believe that yours will prove to be. those of Polia dysodea, the 

 Ranunculus moth. Their attack on your Geraniums is quite an exceptional 

 case. You cannot do better than hunt for them on the plants after dark. — 



1. 0. W. 



Naices of Fruits (Centurion).— 1, Van Mons Leon Leclerc ; 2,Dr.Capron; 

 3, Princess Charlotte ; 4, It may be Duchesse d'Angouleme from a late bloom ; 

 5, Like Reinette du Canada, but small ; 6, Lewis' Incomparable ; 7, St. Michel 

 Axchange. Your Northern Spy is evidently growing too vigorously. Trans- 

 plant it, and put it on a west wall. (R. C. Catlin).—1he Apple' is Yellow 

 Ingestrie; No. 1, Pear Beurre Bosc; 2, Soldat Esperen. (J. N.). — 1, Worth- 

 less ; 2, Bergamotte Cadette ; 3, Knight's Monarch. (P. B.).— 1, Worthless ; 



2, Piincess Charlotte; 3, Retour de Rome; 5, Jean deWitte; 6, Madame 

 Elize. 



Names of Plants (J. Hibbert).— The name of the Fungus is Clavaria 

 stricta, said to be rare. (Upfield Green). — We cannot name plants from 

 leaves, nor specimens that are not numbered. 



POELTEY, BEE, AND PIGEON CHEOEICLE. 



THE PACKING AND UNPACKING OF POULTBY 

 AT SHOWS. 



Any breeder of poultry attending a poultry'6how, and being in 

 the place of exhibition, as I have been on several occasions dur- 

 ing the past autumn, at the close of the show, when the birds 

 were being repacked, would have witnessed a scene which few 

 can imagine, far less describe. There is generally a great hurry 

 to get the birds off to the station ; the one or two men who have 

 charge of them at the show, and Who know how to handle birds, 

 being anxious to send them off, call in three or four "helps," 

 and do so regardless of consequences. Legs, heads, wings, tails, 

 and feathers are seized, wrenched, pulled, and twisted ; it matters 

 not what comes first, so long as the poor bird is got out of the 

 pen and pitched into the hamper. Expedition in returning the 

 birds is very essential, but not at such fearful risks, and the 

 wonder is that birds are ever fit to exhibit twice. Generally 

 speaking, secretaries of shows know little of the trouble, care, 

 and anxiety of breeding birds fit to take a prize, consequently 

 look upon the valuable stock committed to their care with far 

 different ideas to the owner and breeder. 



Another serious matter I have noticed at shows — that is, per- 

 mitting persons to take sticks, umbrellas, &c, into an exhibition. 

 Well may a poor bird taking a prize exclaim, if he could, " Save 

 me from my friends," and we may also say (I think) foes too. I 

 have noticed that every man who has a stick is sure to use it in 

 poking up a prize bird, not simply because he wants to see a good 

 point in the bird, but for the sake of using it, and the greatest 

 yokel, not capable of telling a Cochin from a Cuckoo, is sure to 

 use a stick in a poultry show; consequently by such usage how 

 rarely a bird is seen in a show pen to advantage ! Another more 

 grave matter arises through permitting sticks to be taken into 

 a show — it affords badly-disposed persons (such as Mr. Hewitt 

 alludes to in "Wright's "Book of Poultry " an opportunity of giving 

 a bird a blow or an injury to feathers that may prevent his ever 

 again being fit to show. This being so easily done and so easily 

 prevented, henceforward no stick, umbrella, &c, should be 

 permitted in any poultry exhibition whatever. They can be 

 easily taken charge of at the door, as at a picture exhibition, and 

 returned when the owner leaves ; and I fully believe that every 

 honest and right-minded exhibitor will endorse the views ex- 

 pressed by — Edwaed Tudjian. 



Berjiingham Poultry Show.— A comparison of the entries 

 made for this popular Exhibition, which opens on the last day 



of the present month, shows that the liberal prizes and arrange- 

 ments have enabled Birmingham to well hold, its own this year. 

 No less than 600 feet in length of new galleries have been 

 added since the last Show, the object being to place the Pigeons 

 and Bantams in more immediate connection with the poultry 

 department. Two new poultry offices have been erected, as the 

 sales of birds, now approaching to £2000 during the Show, 

 rendered increased accommodation in this department an ab- 

 solute necessity. 



DEALERS AND SHOWS. 



Mb. Weight appears to assume that all persons who make a 

 profit by the sale of their poultry are to all intents and purposes 

 dealers; now, this opinion I am not prepared to endorse. I am 

 a poultry fancier in a small way, and the sole object I have in 

 view is amusement and recreation; at the same time I am 

 not insensible to the desirability of making my hobby " pay its 

 candle;" and would this latter consideration constitute me a 

 dealer ? I think not. Mr. Wright commences with the quota- 

 tion, "that a man who buys and sells for gain is a dealer," but 

 I think he scarcely sticks to his text, as no further mention is 

 made in his succeeding remarks of the buying and selling trans- 

 actions, but of breeding; the latter term appears to be substi- 

 tuted for the former, which in my opinion makes all the differ- 

 ence. I am aware that it would be very difficult to draw a hard- 

 and-fast line, but I think it will be generally admitted that one 

 who buys and sells for gain is without doubt a dealer; while the 

 term will not apply with such force to those who happen to 

 breed their birds. 



With regard to Mr. Wright's second paragraph, I think his 

 conclusions are equally open to criticism : as if dealers, and some 

 others who might be termed professional exhibitors, were by 

 some means handicapped, the chances would be greatly in 

 favour of amateurs winning, and the odds being thus in their 

 favour, a ready sale would be effected of all high-class birds; 

 the purchasers knowing that the professional being out of court, 

 the money would not be. entirely thrown away. Not that I 

 advocate the system of winning with purchased birds, for in 

 such cases it is the longest purse and not the best manager that 

 wins. Of course I am now speaking of a system, for it will 

 sometimes happen that an amateur will win with a bird that 

 had been previously purchased as a stock bird, but this will not 

 affect the general principle. 



In conclusion, I think that the establishment of county shows 

 would effectually meet the case, leaving, say, eight or ten of the 

 larger shows open, to give those who feel inclined an oppor- 

 tunity of measuring their strength, and even in these I think 

 the limited classes will be found an admirable institution. 

 There are scores of amateurs who, like myself, care for no more 

 than local fame, and if they did aspire to the highest honours — 

 such as cups at the Crystal Palace, Birmingham, and else- 

 where, the professional fraternity would in the majority of cases 

 effectually extinguish their chance, and consequently damp their 

 ardour ; and I think everyone will admit that these amateurs 

 deserve all the encouragement that can be afforded them, as 

 from their great and rapidly-increasing numbers, and I think I 

 may say from their generally high character, they must be looked 

 upon as the backbone of the fancy. 



As I intimated before, the establishment of county shows 

 would go far to place all such exhibitors on a common level, and 

 the committees of shows would, I think, find such a plan greatly 

 increase the entries and subscriptions ; and leaving a fair pro- 

 portion of the larger shows open, would enable the poultry 

 world to see who were the real lions of the fancy, or, at least, 

 who were the possessors of the best birds of the year. 



While I am on the subject, I will take the opportunity of ex- 

 pressing my regret that the committee of what bids fair to be a 

 flourishing show in my own county (Kent) have deemed it ad- 

 visable to throw their show open to general competition ; this, in 

 my opinion, is a radical mistake, and playing into the hands of 

 the very parties who are the cause of this discussion being 

 raised. — W. J., ShejpherdsioeU. 



On witnessing the last Show at Norwich, I then stated to Mr. 

 Groom, the Manager, my conviction that a show for selling 

 classes only should in future be held, as it was evidently called 

 for by the buying public, from the fact that out of the three 

 selling classes upwards of sixty pens were sold, whereas not a 

 single purchaser appeared in any of the open classes. These facts, 

 occurring in districts so famous for the breed of poultry and 

 Pigeons as Norfolk and Suffolk, must be conclusive, and Mr. 

 Groom said that was entirely his opinion. 



Mr. Wright's advocacy of this subject prevented my troubling 

 you at the time with my views, and I have only to add that 

 on meeting Mr. Groom at Ipswich we discussed the matter 

 thoroughly, and agreed that so far from the plan acting against 

 the interests of dealers, it would give them more scope, and at 

 the same time give amateurs a fair chance of competing with 

 them, and of allowing buyers generally to make purchases, 

 which with the system of open classes was rendered practically 



